Sewing Organization Tip #2

Today's tip is for organizing fabric scraps.  By scraps I mean fabric pieces that aren't quite big enough to make another garment, but are still cool enough to keep for something.

I've had an alteration business for a number of years and have accumulated alot of scraps.  For some reason, I just can't bear to throw away those wonderful fabric cut off from prom dress hems or other fabulous garments.  I know one day I will use them for something!

Well after a few years of alterations, they were starting to create a big heap in the corner of my sewing room so I came up with a solution.  IKEA!

I bought two bookshelves with matching boxes and now my scraps have a home.  Each box contains a different color and now when I just need a little something for a embellishment or a small project, I head to the scrap box and pick out something fabulous!

I hope this tip will come in handy for you as well!  Tomorrow's tip - Getting a grip on your trims.

Happy Sewing!

Sewing Organization Tip #1

As sewers, we tend to accumulate alot of "paper" stuff.  Papers that needs to be organized and stored, and easily accessible for future reference.  Between magazines, patterns, sewing articles, class samples, just where does all of that stuff end up?

If you are like alot of sewers, stuff tends to get put in a "safe place" somewhere that you will never find again.  And you spend hours and hours trying to find just that one article, only to find lots of other things you forgot about in the process.

Well, I have a solution for all of the "paper" stuff that goes along with sewing.

Use Binders.

I use binders for all of my "paper" related sewing items.

For my patterns, I photocopy the front and back of the pattern envelope and put the photocopy in a clear plastic sheet protector and then file it in one of my pattern binders (according to what the garment is - jacket, pant, dress, etc).  The actual pattern itself, gets filed into a pattern box according to manufacturer and number.  Then, when I want to make a dress, I can just grab my binder and flip thru all of the photocopies of the dress patterns that I have and select one.  Then, go to the appropriate pattern box, pull out the pattern and voila!  Alot of time saved!

Some of the photocopied patterns in my binders

I do the same for my Burda Magazine patterns.  I photocopy the "All Styles at a Glance" page and just hole punch these and put them directly into a binder.  Then, I can quickly glance thru all of them, tab the ones I'm thinking about and then go to the correct year binder that the magazine is in and voila again!  Alot of time saved!

Burda patterns in their binder

Other items I keep in binders:
- Class samples with their instructions.  Usually in sheet protectors.
- Knitting instructions
- Embroidery ideas
- Sewing articles I've torn out of magazines.  Again - organized by their category for easy reference.
- Clothing styles I'd like to copy in the future
- Scrapbooking layouts I'd like to use in the future
- Cooking recipes

The possibilities for binders is endless!

I hope this tip will help tame some of your paper madness in the future.  Stay tuned tomorrow for a simple way to organize those fabric scraps.

Happy Sewing!

Make a Garment a Month Challenge

I've joined the Make a Garment a Month Challenge.  Here's my January project:

It's Vogue 1052 - an Issey Miyake pattern from 2008.  I will be making the jacket from the teal fabric, but I can't decide which lining to use?  The circle one leftover from my last project or the cherry print one?  What do you think?   Please leave me a comment with your lining preference.  I will start cutting this out next weekend.

Also - stay tuned each day this week as I will be posting different ways to organize your sewing stuff.  Thanks everyone and Happy Sewing!

Star

McCalls 2979

This is a coat I made from a vintage 1971 pattern - McCalls 2979.  I can't remember where I picked up the pattern, but it's been in my stash for quite awhile.

I had some wonderful grayish/blue quilted home dec fabric in my stash that was just calling to me to be made up into something. Here's the start.  It was a very "stringy" fabric.  Why it never occurred to me to serge the edges I will never know.  Instead, I had threads on me and half of the carpet in the house from all of the threads it left behind.

Off to a good start!

I had purchased some buttons at a local fabric store and noticed when I got home, that the inside edges were kind of rough.  I had already snagged the inside of the coat once and knew these edges would cause more snags.

Can you see the rough edges on the buttons?

An easy way to fix the rough edges is to cover them with clear fingernail polish.  This also works if you have rhinestone bracelets and notice they are snagging your garments - just paint the entire bracelet with the clear nail polish and it will end the snagging!

After painting the buttons, I thought the jacket would look better with bound buttonholes instead of just regular buttonholes so I did a sample.  

Yes - that looks much better than regular buttonhole!

Now the problem was, I had already completed most of the jacket so marking for the bound buttonholes afterwards was quite a challenge!  I think I did ok though.  See pic below. 

Now it was time to add a lining and trim.  I can't bear to have a plain lining in a jacket so I opted for this wonderful circle print by Robert Kaufman.  Also, I wanted to add a bit of fun between the jacket and the lining so I took two different colors of ric rac - yellow and red - and twisted them together.  After much twisting, twisting, twisting, etc, (you get the picture), I finally had a piece of finished trim (2 1/2 yards worth).  I gave it a good press to make it lay flat and then sewed it to the facings and then sewed the lining on top of that.

Yippee! A fun lining

The pattern comes with a belt pattern piece but no belt loops pattern piece.  Now just what are you supposed to do with the belt when you take it off if you don't have belt loops?  Put it in your purse, wear it as a headband, tie it around your waist?  I have no idea.  So I added some belt loops too.  Here's the finished product.  The color (at least on my monitor) is more true on the dress form pics than on the pictures of me in the jacket.  Not sure why that is.  

The finished product!

Gotta love the collar topstitching

Back view

I can't decide if I like it better with the belt or without

Back with the belt

 And here it is on me!

Love the lining!

Happy Sewing!

Vogue 8817

Sometimes you just need a break from making something complicated (such as my last posting) and make something quick and easy.  So this was the project.  This Vogue pattern 8817 by Katherine Tilton.  There are three different tops in the pattern, but I choose view C.  It has a high/low hemline which is very trendy at the moment.  It's a knit blouse made from 3 different fabrics and it is very comfortable to wear.

My fabrics include two from my stash (the very top piece and the black) and the bottom fabric which I recently purchased at Hart's Fabrics in Santa Cruz.  All fabrics are a stretchy knit.  The bottom one, however, is a bit sheer, so I need to wear a tank underneath it unless I want everything showing!

Front view

Here's the back.  The black band doesn't extend around to the back which I find a bit odd. If I make another one, I will modify the pattern to include a black band back here as well.

I made a size 14 on top, tapering to a size 12 on the sides.  I ended up taking in the sides about 2 inches from the waist down - there was just way, way too much fabric.

Back view

There was a bee pursuing me during this photo shoot.  I think the picture turned out kind of funny though so I thought I would throw it in as well.

Where did that bee go?

 Here's the side view.  You can see the high/low hemline better in this picture.

I've entered the "Make a Garment a Month Challenge" so stay tuned for updates on that as well.

Happy Sewing!

Plastic Bag Coat

This is my official request for some rain in Northern California.  We desperately need some.  With the thoughts of a drought on the horizon and no clouds in sight (and me on my own well), I thought I would make a public appeal by posting my upcycled raincoat made from plastic bags.  Maybe this will make Mother Nature change her mind and send us some rain.

Another day of sunshine and no rain in the forecast for the next 7 days!

This is a Linda MacPhee pattern #465 - Bag Lady Jacket.  It's made from plastic bags sewn to a fabric base.  I've been collecting plastic bags from various vacations over the last 10+ years and decided I finally had enough to make the jacket. 

On the right front and sleeve I have:

- Powell's books (Portland, Oregon)

- Buckingham Palace (London, UK)

- Die Welt (German Newspaper)

- Empire State Building (NY, NY)

- Button & Needlework Boutique (Victoria, B.C.)

- Wenger (Interlaken, Switzerland)

- Apple (Cupertino, CA)

- Ace Cafe (London, UK)

- Vogue Fabrics (Sewing Expo, Puyallup, Washington)

- Biodome (Montreal, Canada)

- Gift shop bag (Sylt, Germany)

On the left front and sleeve I have:
- Creative Memories (scrapbooking supplies)
- Satin Moon Quilt Shop (Victoria, B.C.)
- English Heritage (gift shop in the UK - various locations)
- KaDeWe (Department store in Berlin, Germany)
- Peek & Cloppenburg (Department store in Germany)
- H & M (London, UK - before they opened stores in the US)
- Marrimekko (Seattle, WA)
- MASH (England - can't remember the village)
- Koln Cathedral (Cologne, Germany)
- Jelly Belly (Vacaville, CA)
- Next (London, UK)

Back and Hood:

- Orvis (Roseville, CA)
- Pendleton (Seattle, WA)
- Tillamook Cheese (Tillamook Factory, Oregon)
- idee (Wonderful fabric store in Berlin, Germany - associated with the KaDeWe department store)
- KaDeWe (Berlin, Germany)
- IKEA (Berkeley, CA)
- 4711 (Cologne, Germany)
- Porthcurno Telegraph Museum (Porthcurno, Cornwall, England)

The inside is a cotton print I found on e-bay with Umbrellas printed on it.  Black and white collar and trim next to the zipper and on hood is a cotton from my stash.  

To construct the jacket - cut each bag into single layer pieces.  These pieces are then sewn onto backing fabric to give them some weight and stability - I used scraps of cotton or muslin from my stash.  If you are using a print for the backing fabric, be sure that the backing fabric doesn't show thru the plastic to the front, unless that is the look you are trying to achieve.

Once all of the bag pieces are finished, start arranging your bags according to where you would like them placed on the jacket.  Next, sew the bags to each other.  I opted to topstitch each bag as well.

Next, using the pattern pieces, cut out your jacket from the bag fabric and construct as you would a normal jacket.   Instead of doing a traditional lining with no selvedge edges showing on the inside, I just opted to back my finished pieces with the lining fabric and sew all at one time.   Make the collar and hood, add the zipper and ta da!  You are done!

Of course the pattern itself will give you more detailed instructions than I have here.  This is just meant as a  quick overview.  The jacket did take awhile to construct, and it is fairly heavy with all of those layers.

There has got to be some rain out there somewhere!

A few things to keep in mind when making your own jacket.  If you have a very flimsy plastic bag - do not put it on an area that will get alot of wear and tear - such as the shoulder area.  My Powell's bag is on the shoulder and I'm afraid my purse strap might cause it to rip.  Of course if that does happen, you can just get out some clear packing tape and tape it back together!

Another consideration - my Buckingham Palace bag said it is biodegradable.  So one day, I might try to wear my jacket and that bag will have disappeared!  Let's hope that takes awhile though - for my jacket's sake!

Last appeal!  Please send us some rain!

Happy Sewing!

Indigo Junction Trench Topper

The Indigo Junction Trench Topper is a great little jacket.  There are three different styles included in the pattern.  All have different lengths, button options and sleeve length options.  

I originally purchased this as a "kit" at the Sewing Expo in Puyallup, Washington a few years ago.  The kit came with the pattern, checked fabric, the teal fabric and 4 wooden buttons.  The checked fabric is a wool blend and the teal is silk.  The kit was meant for view 3 - the shorter version with 3/4 length sleeves.  There was barely enough fabric to complete it as well!

On that same trip to Washington, I was fortunate enough to be able to take a ferry to Victoria, British Columbia as well. Victoria is where I purchased the handmade ceramic buttons for the front and the pocket. There is a wonderful needlework shop in Victoria - The Button & Needlework Boutique.  If you are ever in Victoria, it is well worth a stop - they have needlework, yarns, buttons, and accessories.  It is a very nice store!

Close up of the ceramic buttons

The pattern piece for the pocket is an interesting shape.  It's a large square, with a smaller square on top of it to form the fold over flap.  I wanted to add a bit of interest to the edges of the fold over flap so I decided to fray the edges.   First, you sew the lining to the fabric right sides together up to the point where the flap would fold over.  Stop there and sew the other side the same way.  Turn the fabric so wrong sides are together and then sew around the remaining pocket flap with tiny stitches - then fray away!

Close up of the button on the pocket

I lined the jacket with some brown and black marble dyed rayon I had in my stash.  The jacket doesn't call for a lining, but I prefer the finished look of a lining.  Plus I was afraid that the checked fabric would snag if it didn't have a lining.

Here are some more views of the lining and the teal seam finishes on my dress form.

The four wooden buttons came with the kit.  After sewing them onto the back ties, the ties sagged under their weight so I hand sewed the ties to the jacket to eliminate the sagging.

Here's the finished product.  It's a fun little jacket to wear with jeans or a skirt.  Hope you like it!

Happy Sewing!